Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1887-04-24

remained Of it were few strictly local
and miniature whirlwinds, which would
suddenly spring up on the road itself, and
twist and twiTl fiercely round, raising
mighty column of dust fifty feet or more
into the air, where it hung long after the
cause of it had passed, and then slowly
dissolved as its PARTICLES foated to the
earth.
Coming along the road, in the immedi-
ate track OF one of these desultOry and in
< applicable whirlwinds, WAS a man on horse
back. The man looked limp and dirty, and
the horse limpcr and dirtier. The hot
wind had taken all the bones out Of them,
as the Kafiirs say, which was not very
much to be wondered at, seeing that they
had been ieurneying through it for the last
four hours, without ofi-saddling Suddenly
the whirlwind, which had been travelling
along pretty smarily, halted, and the dust,
after turning around lew times in the air
like dying top, slowly began to dissolve
in the accustomed fashion. The man on
the horse halted too, aud contemplated it
in an absent kind ut way. :
Its Just like a mans life" he said
aloud to his horse, coming from nobody
knows where, nobody knows why, and
making little column Of dust on the
worlds highway, aud then passing away
: and leaving the dust to fall To the ground
agcIin and be trOdden under foot and for
gotten
4 The speaker, q stout, we'll set,up rather
ugly man, apparently on the wrong side OF
thirty, with pleasant blue eyes and a red.
dish peaked heard, laughed q little at his
own sententious reflection, and then gave
=. his faded horse a tap with the SiambOck
in his hand
Come llesbOk," he said, 'Or we
VIII old CrOft's place tonight.
We've that must be the
= DE pointed with his whip to
! -.. Tutty track that turned from the
<WakkerstrOOm main road and stretch
ed away towards a curious isolated hill
with large Hat top, that rose out of the
rolling plain some four miles To the right.
THE old Boer said the second turn" ne
went ON, still talking to himself but
perhaps he lied / am told that some Of
think il a good Joke to send an English
man few miles wrong. Let's see, they
said the place was under the lee Of table
topped hill about half IN hours ride from
the main road, and that is a table topped
-'-1->ill so | think | will try it. Come on
1eir iIsbok, ~ and he put the tired nag into q
:, of cripple, or ambling Canter much
8 a calEtad by South African horses.
life is a queer thing" reflected Cap
EMH k,hu Mel to hlmselfas he slowly can
lGUll j long. "NOw here am /, at the aye
~ "ty-iOT, about to begin the world
agarnas an assistant to an old Transvaal
farmer. 1t is a pretty end to all ones am
bitions, and to fourteen years work in the
army; but it is what it has to come to, my
boy, so you had better make the best Of il. "
Just then his eOgitations were interrupt
ed, for on the farther side of gentle slope
there suddenly appeared an extraordinary
sight. Over the crest of the rise of land,
now some four or five hRndred yards away,
pony with a,lady on his hack came wildly
gallOping and after it, with wings spread
- and Outstretched neck, a huge cock ostrich
was speeding along, covering twelve OF
fifteen feet at every stride Of It's long legs.
u' Y The pony WAS still twenty yards ahead Of
Ses the bird, and coming towards John rapidly
IA but strive rs itiwOuld it could not distance
the swiltest thing on all the earth Five
P seconds passed-the great bird was close
tnes alongside now All! and John Me
mo turned s5ek and shut his eyes as he rode
d be saw the OstIich's thick leg tiy high
Rf4 into the air and then sweep down like &
loaded bludgeon.
TRad! Il had missed the lady aud struck
her horse upon the spine, behind the sad
die, for the moment completely paraly zinl
it, so that it fell all Of a heap on to the
yeldt. In a moment the girl on its back
was up and of towards him, and after hel
came the ostrich. Up went the great leg
again, but before it came crashing on tC
her shoulders she had flung herself face
dOWnwards on the grass. In IN instant
the huge bird was on top of her, kicking
at her, rolling over her, and crushing the
VerNlife ont Of her. IL was at this June
ture that John Mel arrived upon the scene.
The moment the ostrich saw him he gave
up his attacks upon the lady on the ground
and began TO waltz towards him with q
pompous sort of step that these birds some
times assume before they give battle Now,
Captain Mel was unaccuStOmed TO the
ways OF OStriehes, and 50 was his horse,
which showed a strong inclination to holt;
as, indeed, under other eireums laneeS, his
would have been glad to do himself But
he could not abandon beauty in distress,
80, finding it impossible 10 control his
horse, he slipped Off it, and with his siam
book, or hide-whlp, en- his hand. yaliantly
faced the enemy. For q moment or two
the great bird stood still, blinking its lus-
trous eyes at him and gently swaying its
graceful neck to and fro. Then all of q
sudden it spread out its wings aud came
for him like thunderbOlt. He sprang TO
Que side, and was aware Of a ruStling OF
feSthers, and Of vision of a thick leg
Striking dOwnwards past his head Fortu-
naIelY it missed him, and the ostrich sped
past him like fash. Before he could
turn, however, il was back and had landed
the full weight Of one OF its awful forward
kicks in the broad of his back, and away
he went head over heels like shot rabbit.
In a second be was on his legs again, sha-
ken, indeed, but not much the worse, and
perfectly mad with fury and pain. AT
him came the ostrich, and at the ostrich
went be, catching il blow across the slim
neck with bis SabOck, that staggered it for
q moment. PrO6ting By the check, he
seized the bird BY the wing and held on
like grim death with both hands Then
they began to gyrats, slowly at inst then
quicker, and yet more quick. till at last it
seemed to Captain John Mel that time aud
space and the solid earth were nothing but